PART I 



THE RUBBER INDUSTRY OF THE 

 AMAZON VALLEY 



X 



CHAPTER I 

 HISTORY AND GENERAL CONDITIONS 



Origin of the Brazilian rubber industry First steps in manu- 

 facture of rubber articles Discovery of vulcanization Varieties 

 of Hevca Castilloa or caitcho Hevea Brasiliensis the mainstay 

 of the Amazon industry Superiority of the black Hevea The 

 white Hevea Itapiru and Bariguda Different qualities of 

 rubber Output and classification for season ending June 30, 

 1913 Rubber from Ceara Total Brazilian shipments Area of 

 rubber-producing lands in the Amazon Valley Principal affluents 

 of the Amazon Rubber the only important industry in the 

 Amazon Valley Forest vegetation Varieties of timber Slight 

 fall in gradient of rivers Strong currents Rivers fed by melting 

 snows from the Andes Annual rise in the water-level Inundations 

 and agricultural enterprise Lands above flood-level Variations 

 of temperature Dry and wet seasons Rainfall Climatic diseases 

 Malaria Beri-beri Yellow fever Difficulty of enforcing sani- 

 tation measures Anaemic condition of inhabitants Classification 

 of population. 



THE origin of the Brazilian rubber industry can be 

 traced back for several centuries, to a period when 

 the Indian population of the Amazon Valley made 

 use of the gum for various domestic purposes. As far 

 back as 1536 mention is made by Orviedo y Valle, in 

 his " Historia Universal de las Indias," published at 



